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October 24, 2026

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Analysis

What's at stake as Libya's eastern parliament approves Turkey maritime deal

Libya's eastern-based parliament's approval of a long-disputed maritime deal with Turkey marks a strategic win for Ankara as Saddam Hifter seeks Turkish backing for his presidential ambitions, according to analysts.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attends a joint statements and agreements during the EU and Egypt summit in Brussels, on Oct. 22, 2025.

Sisi says Egypt has no ‘territorial ambitions’ after Israel’s Smotrich threatens Sinai

The Egyptian president’s remarks follow a warning from Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that Israel would seize the Sinai Peninsula if Egypt attacks.

China's President Xi Jinping (center L) walks along with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi followed by their wives Peng Liyuan and Entissar Amer (R) upon their arrival at the Cairo International Airport on September 1, 2026. President Xi Jinping arrived in Egypt on September 1, making a rare trip to the Middle East as both countries face the threat of US sanctions over financial links to Iran. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Why renewed Egypt-Ethiopia tensions are a problem for China

For Beijing, the renewed Egypt-Ethiopia standoff is a zero-sum bind that threatens vital strategic interests on both sides of the Nile.

Joyce Karam

A quadrilateral summit was held on Oct. 4, 2026, attended by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al‑Sisi, Eritrea President Isaias Afwerki, President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of Sudan Gen. Abdel Fattah al‑Burhan, in New El Alamein City, Egypt.

Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan hold summit amid Ethiopia tensions

All four countries have increasingly tense relations with Ethiopia, driven by disputes over the Nile, Red Sea access and security.

Latest News

Explainer

Why are Egypt and Ethiopia clashing over Tigray, Somalia and the Nile?

This general view shows the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia, on February 19, 2022. - Ethiopia's massive hydro-electric dam project on a tributary of the Nile has raised regional tensions notably with Egypt, which depends on the huge river for 97 percent of its water supply. Government officials said the dam would begin producing electricity on Sunday, more than a decade since work first started. (Photo by Amanuel SILESHI / AFP) (Photo by AMANUEL SILESHI/AFP via Getty Ima

Ex-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to sue Netanyahu over Oct. 7 accusations: What to know

Ronen Bar, former chief of Israel's domestic Shin Bet security agency

On secret UAE visit, Netanyahu asked MBZ to deny pre-Oct. 7 warnings

Israeli PM

20 Israelis stranded in Ethiopia seek evacuation as fighting resumes: What to know

A general view of the damaged building housing Tigray TV, the state broadcaster of the Tigray region, following a drone strike in Mekelle, Ethiopia, Sept. 27, 2026.

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

In London, reporting on North Africa and Gulf politics

Mohammed Magdy

In Berlin, reporting on Egyptian politics

Ayah Aman

In Cairo, reporting on politics and culture

Salwa Samir

In Giza, reporting on politics

Nada Shaker

In Cairo, reporting on culture

TO GO WITH STORY BY BRYAN PEARSON Habib al-Sadr, director general of Iraq's biggest television company, Al-Iraqiya, answers questions during an interview with AFP at his Iraqi Media Network company headquarters in Baghdad's upmarket Al-Karrada suburb, 23 August 2007. Sadr has far-reaching plans to expand his ever-growing media empire -- provided he can outlive the constant threats to his life. All is in place for the launch mid-September at the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan of a new religious ch

Will Egypt join Iraq in the 'Axis of Resistance'?

Iraq is playing the role of broker to include Egypt in the Axis of Resistance, led by Iran.

A man browses in a bookshop in downtown Cairo October 13, 2010. Poking fun at everything from the president's almost 30-year rule to the capital's frenetic traffic, satirical books are filling more shelf space in Egypt's bookshops and reflecting the frustrations of a young generation. Limited outlets for political expression, state crackdowns on organized dissent and a growing wealth gap in the Arab world's most populous state are fuelling demand for such literary satire, literary critics say. Picture taken

Why Gazan authors are moving to Egypt

Egypt remains the No. 1 destination for Arab authors in general, and Gazan authors in particular, due to its cultural and scientific stature.

A boy runs near damaged buildings in the rebel held besieged city of Douma, in the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta, Syria January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSWBM4

Egypt’s cross-border psychological support for Syrians

A number of Egyptian psychiatrists have launched an online initiative to help Syrians who are suffering from psychological problems as a result of the ongoing war in their country.

Muslim men attend an evening prayer called "Tarawih", during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, at the Al-Rifai Mosque in the old Islamic area of Cairo, Egypt July 2, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RTX2JFE9

How Egypt is trying to stop looting at ancient mosques

Islamic archaeological monuments are constantly subjected to looting, and the Ministry of State for Antiquities has responded by ordering the contents of an ancient mosque be transferred to the ministry’s warehouses.

Egypt’s graffiti artists struggle to bring women to street walls

The Women on Walls project is supporting female graffiti artists, who are still facing many challenges, including sexual harassment, when creating art on the streets in Egypt.

Security forces attempt to block Egyptian lawyer and ex-Presidential candidate Khaled Ali (C-R), who is marching in support of a ruling against the Egypt-Saudi border demarcation agreement, in front of the State Council courthouse in Cairo, Egypt, January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RTSVPRW

Court sinks Egyptian-Saudi island deal

A court ruling supposedly has ended Egypt’s attempt to hand over two strategic Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, but the government hasn’t necessarily given up.

Syrian women in Egypt find solidarity in stylist classes

Cosmetology classes help displaced Syrian women form bonds and start fashion careers in Egypt.

Egypt's Grand Imam of al-Azhar Mosque, Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed al-Tayeb, delivers a speech during the international summit of women parliamentary speakers on December 12, 2016, in Abu Dhabi. / AFP / NEZAR BALOUT (Photo credit should read NEZAR BALOUT/AFP/Getty Images)

Egypt grand imam's call for peace in Myanmar sparks backlash at home

The speech of Al-Azhar's grand imam, Ahmed al-Tayeb, at a peace conference in Cairo raised the usual controversy with some Salafists, who thought his address was not in line with Islamic teachings.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY ALAIN NAVARRO: An Egyptian zookeeper feeds a Nile crocodile at Giza zoo in Cairo 14 August 2007. A sudden influx of hundreds of baby crocodiles seized while being smuggled out of Cairo airport has left the zoo struggling to deal with the tiny but rapidly growing reptiles. They were brought here after customs officials found them, along with snakes and chameleons, in the luggage of a young Saudi man who said they were destined for a Saudi "scientific institute". AFP PHOTO/KHALED DESOU

Egypt set to invest in crocodile industry

As the crocodile population has increased in Lake Nasser, despite lifting the ban on crocodile hunting, the Egyptian government announced a project to invest in the animal and encourage exports.

Civil society bears the burden of fighting sexual harassment in Egypt

Civil organizations are encouraging Egyptian women — and men — to speak out against sexual harassment, and want the nation to start enforcing its laws against the crime.

Egypt's Investment Minister Ashraf Salman talks to the media during the Euromoney Conference in Cairo, Egypt September 7, 2015. Egypt will return to the international bond market in the first half of 2016, the country's Finance Minister Hany Kadry Dimian said on Monday, taking advantage of its return to economic and political stability in the wake of the Arab Spring uprising of 2011. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RTX1RG5Q

Will new law attract more foreign investment to Egypt?

Experts say drafting a new investment law is not enough to lure foreign investors back to Egypt — the entire business climate will need to change.

Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris speaks during an interview with Reuters in Sharm el-Sheikh, in the South Sinai governorate, south of Cairo, March 15, 2015. Sawiris said he was ready to invest $500 million in Egypt and was diversifying his telecoms business into infrastructure, energy and transportation, sectors which need major funds in the country. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS) - RTR4TF9Q

Is Egypt's main opposition party switching sides?

The founder of the Free Egyptians Party Naguib Sawiris took to Twitter to condemn what he believes to be the state's nationalization of his opposition party.